Skip to main content

Primary sourceDocument1880

Upon the Production and Reproduction of Sound by Light

Alexander Graham Bell · 1880

Bell's 1880 scientific paper announcing the photophone, read before the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

Bell wrote this paper to announce his photophone, which he considered his greatest invention.

Ask Alexander Graham about this sourceView the original(opens in new tab)
Front cover of a library-bound book in tan paper boards with a pale spine label reading BELL and QC 235 B43. A white UC-NRLF library barcode label sits at the top, and handwritten call number QC 235 B43 is written on the cover.
Alexander Graham Bell, On the Production and Reproduction of Sound by Light, American Journal of Science, 1880.

About this source

What it is

This is Alexander Graham Bell's 1880 paper describing the photophone, a device he built with Charles Sumner Tainter that produced sound from light. It was read before the American Association for the Advancement of Science and published in the American Journal of Science.

Why it matters

The paper lays out the scientific reasoning and experiments behind the photophone, including the discovery that many materials react to light vibrations by producing sound. It shows Bell as an active experimental scientist, not just an inventor of one famous device, working closely with Tainter to extend his research.

Look closer

  • Why might Bell have chosen to present this discovery to a scientific society rather than only patent it?
  • What does the long list of materials tested suggest about how Bell and Tainter approached their experiments?
  • How might this paper have been received differently from the telephone announcement?

This document is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of Alexander Graham on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.

More Alexander Graham sources

Meet the AI Alexander Graham →
Scan of the first page of U.S. Patent No. 174,465, titled 'United States Patent Office,' naming Alexander Graham Bell of Salem, Massachusetts, and 'Improvement in Telegraphy.' Dense printed text in two columns follows.Document

Primary source

U.S. Patent No. 174,465, Improvement in Telegraphy

Alexander Graham Bell · 7 March 1876

Artifact

Primary source

Recording of the Voice of Alexander Graham Bell

Alexander Graham Bell · 1885

Handwritten pen sketch labeled 'Fig 4' in a notebook showing a liquid transmitter: a diaphragm labeled B, a cup labeled C in a container, a point labeled P, a battery symbol, and a switch labeled S, with partial handwritten text below.Painting

Primary source

Drawing of a Liquid Transmitter, 8 March 1876

Alexander Graham Bell · 8 March 1876

Book

Primary source

Memoir Upon the Formation of a Deaf Variety of the Human Race

Alexander Graham Bell · 1884

Black-and-white studio portrait of an elderly man with white hair and a full white beard, wearing a dark suit, vest, and tie, looking toward the camera against a soft gray backdrop.Photograph

Primary source

Portrait of Alexander Graham Bell

Moffett Studio

Ready when you are

Start chatting with Alexander Graham now.

20 messages free · No credit card · Available in 50+ languages.

Trial Humy for freeGet a quote for institutions